News Brief

7/21/2011, Tammuz 19, 5771

Rudolf Hess' Grave Destroyed

The burial place of Rudolf Hess, Hitler's top deputy, has been destroyed and his body exhumed, reports said Thursday. The action was undertaken with the permission of the family, because his grave had become a shrine for neo-Nazis, who have held ceremonies and laid wreaths there. The local council in Wunsiedel, Bavaria, refused to renew a lease for the grave, requiring the removal of Hess' body.

The grave was opened and Hess' body exhumed early Wednesday, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported Thursday. The report said that Hess' body is to be cremated and his ashes scattered at sea.